The Echo Sport Podcast: Hurlers head for Croker, forewarned and forearmed against a strong Dublin

Cork will look to reach back-to-back All-Ireland finals for the first time since 2006 as they meet Dublin in Croke Park on Saturday evening.

A year ago, the Rebels went into their last-four clash as underdogs against a Limerick team that was going for an unprecedented fifth title in a row – Cork won then and this time around they go in as favourites, having ended a seven-year wait for a Munster title.

Cork have not lost to Dublin in the championship since 1927, with recent victories coming in Thurles in 2020, 2021 and 2024. The landscape is altered slightly by the fact that a semi-final is new territory for a lot of Dublin players while a full Croke Park is another element to be taken into account.

This week’s Echo Sport Podcast sees John Horgan and Jack McKay join Denis Hurley to look ahead to the game, identifying the key areas where it will be won and lost what Cork can do to counteract the Dublin momentum and the four-week break since the Munster final win over Limerick on penalties.

While the gap between matches may mean a sluggish start for Pat Ryan’s side against a Dublin team that is likely to be brimming with confidence, the positive side of it is that it has allowed Cork’s injuries to clear. Captain Robert Downey, Niall O’Leary and Declan Dalton had all been hampered to varying degrees but their return should give the Cork management options, albeit some tough decisions to make regarding the starting 15.

On Sunday, Kilkenny and Tipperary clash in the other semi-final, with the Cats having won the last six Leinster titles but with no All-Ireland since 2015 while Tipp have the shortest All-Ireland gap of any of the four semi-finalists – six years – and have bounced back from a poor 2024 to emerge as real contenders under Liam Cahill.

In addition, we look back at the conclusion of the regular programme of the RedFM Hurling Leagues – Sarsfields, the winners of the competition in each of the past two years, had secured a Division 1 final berth with a game to spare but there was a four-way battle to join them in the decider. Meanwhile, the contest between the east Cork trio of Erin’s Own, Midleton and Killeagh in Division 2 had a lot of moving parts.